Madman, prophet or con artist (Part. 3)

Now for Joseph Smith. Anyone who would follow some guy who, while by himself, discovered golden tablets in a stream but could not produce them because he had lost them then could not produce even his transcripts should have their head examined. I put Smith in the same category with Charles"Taz"Russell, Jim Jones and David Koresh. In my opinion, anyone who would commit to any religion without understanding its founder deserves what they get. Vince

Hmmm. Back to the original "madman" question, I find it very interesting.

My son had complex partial seizure disorder up till he was about 10 y.o. the seizures were characterized by bizarre behavior, including staggering around, talking legibly but nonsensically. Prior to seizing he would experience aural and visual disturbances including flashing lights and colors, and voices that no one else heard.

I am thankful that he was born the time and place he was. In a different time or different culture he might have either been vilified and demonized, or honored as a shaman. Thank goodness for modern medicine, which brought him relief from his symptoms.

I bring this up because as I was studying this disorder I came across a rather good dissertation that proposed that many of the so-called prophets may have had complex partial seizures, or at the very least migraine syndrome, including Paul, Joan of Arc and others. Wish I could find it now.

Having experienced some of the visual effects of migraines myself, I find it very plausible. The brain is an interesting landscape. Things can feel very real that simply are not.

clc